I think we need to be very clear that the programming jobs of that era are not todays programing jobs. It was 1980, general society wasn't very progressive, why would computer programming be the magic beacon of equality? And, of course, it wasn't, it was considered menial work fit for females.
I have heard that argument for jobs, but what about Bachelors Degree majors?
To me, the bigger difference is that there must be 10-100x more CS majors per year now than in 1985. CS was mostly applied math then, and math majors have long been extremely majority male.
>To me, the bigger difference is that there must be 10-100x more CS majors per year now than in 1985. CS was mostly applied math then, and math majors have long been extremely majority male.
Actually, according to the second chart on this page(1), there are almost exactly the same number of CS bachelors degrees granted today as there were in 1985 (~41k). Also, the percentage of women in 1985 was double that of today.
Doesn't the same argument apply? Mathematics was not a high-status degree in the '50s, and it was only when it became more respected (and lucrative) that feminists started to have a problem with the gender imbalance.
